


Heavens Hollow

by alltimeest



Category: NCT (Band), Without You - NCT U (Music Video)
Genre: Death, Graffiti, M/M, Slow Burn, Yikes ill add as the story progresses, ambiguous - Freeform, like the story legit begins with death oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 05:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15789588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltimeest/pseuds/alltimeest
Summary: “The eyes of heaven move through the world todayThat our God may give strength to hearts of faithThey never miss a moment, stay faithful and trueFor the eyes of heaven see you”The Booth Brothers - Eyes of HeavenWhat happens when the eyes of heaven turn a blind eye?[Alternatively the graffiti au that literally nobody asked for]





	1. High Stakes, Higher Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, hello!  
> This is my first (posted) kpop au ajsgbdkwhc oof
> 
> anyway,,,,  
> Like i said, this is the graffiti au that literally nobody asked for. I was initially inspired by a graffiti tour i took when i was abroad and figured to spin smth up about that bc graffiti is honestly so beautiful?? It defines a culture. Tbh i could go on about it for ages. 
> 
> here's a small graffiti vocab lesson bc a heavens spot is rly important, so a heavens spot is somewhere risky that graffiti artists go to paint- the riskier the spot the better it is reputation wise, also named heavens spot bc if you fall youre kinda uhhh dead oof. A hollow is just a template lmao.
> 
> So far i've got 4 chapters written out, so i'm p r a y i n g that i'll actually finish this fic up qjdwBKC  
> another warning- this wasn't betad so if there are any mistakes i deeply apologize,,, i write at like 3 am because thats when inspo strikes 
> 
> Anyway, i hope yall like my fabricated shit show!! 
> 
> if you wanna talk or smth feel free to find/dm me on twt @hardcorehao uwu
> 
> (also uhhhh feel free to leave a nice comment or smth)

**Chapter 1**

 

Everything was high stakes. They were aware of it. They knew it was stupid, but there was nothing to lose. The life of a graffiti artist wasn’t something to be taken lightly. It sucked. You weren’t getting paid for your pieces, rather you compete with your peers for recognition and status. The riskier, the better. The longer the piece was up, the better. As long as your name was in someone’s mouth you’d gain status. 

 

He was ready to have that recognition. He wasn’t at the bottom of the food chain, far from the bottom. Probably around the middle, he would say. Nothing as flashy or top notch in style or popularity like Banksy, Basquat, Lady Pink, or Kislev. Not even close and probably never would be. 

 

He was him. 

 

Ordinary. 

 

He had a basic day job at the local coffee shop, got paid a decent amount for obtaining the managerial position, but once the cops changed shift was when he went out and did what he needed to. He expressed himself. Expression was something necessary to daily life and if graffiti held that in its clutches it would be pursued. It was important to him. 

 

He planned on putting his piece on the border between gentrified area and what still remained. It was a Heavens Spot piece. He was really into eyes and was pretty damn good at drawing those so that was a piece he chose to go for. 

 

It didn’t help the fact that there was a soul connection between people discerned through eyes. He’d been studying eyes for an ascernable amount of time. Hopefully this could lead him to his forever as well as recognition. 

 

It’s not as if he had a terrible background or a history with juvi or anything of the sort, but he enjoyed his art. It wasn’t something he felt he  _ needed _ to be good at, but was gifted with after a bit of practice. 

 

His upbringing left him with a good relationship with his parents. It was very loving with no bad blood. They also weren’t aware of the graffiti, but that was a different story for a different day. Possibly something he’d never tell them. It wasn’t something proud to bring up at the dinner table. “Oh hey, parents, so yeah. I do graffiti um, I enjoy scaling large buildings and having minor run ins with the cops. I hope you support me in my decision to be fucking stupid. Thanks.”

 

Sounds highly unappealing. 

 

Back to the moment, he got his pulley system ready on the roof. Securing himself as best as he could, seeing as it was a one man spontaneous job at the moment. Once the pulley was rigged

securely into the right places he put the three cans in his pocket, grabbed the worded stencils, and went at it. 

 

Carefully he lowered himself down. There was enough time between the cops changing shift so he got to work quickly. He could make it in a solid fifteen minutes if he was quick enough. Shaking the bottle, he got to work. Pen to paper, or rather spray paint to Sheetrock or brick. 

“HEY!” Someone called from down below. He fumbled around, flailing and panicked. He dropped one of his cans. The cops weren’t supposed to have changed their shifts this early. If it wasn’t a cop then this person was an utter douche to make him hang precariously in the air. Especially to make him drop a can. They were gonna pay for it if he had anything to say about this. 

Suddenly, something made a clicking noise. 

Then within seconds the artist stumbled from the wall and fell to an untimely death. 

It was similar to when you drop a penny and try to maintain the water retention, but the cup overflows. That’s what the body looked like as it fell from its perch on the wall. Instead of it landing on water though it was just a resounding smack of flesh on the pavement, soul and blood leaving the body. 

The eyes of heaven wasn’t even fully done. It was meant to help him find his destined. It was a curse since only the eye that said “demise” was finished. He fell to his utter demise. 

There was a saying amongst graffiti artists. It’s said if you fall during a heavens spot piece you’d been watched over by god as you go up. However, rumor has it that some artists remained in limbo for mistakes made by god. 

He was aware that maybe, just maybe that theory was right. 

Staring at your lifeless quashed body on the pavement wasn’t appealing. If only there was permission to rise to heaven rather than stand there and wait on his own body to move. 

The only thing he could hear besides his own racing thoughts was sobbing from the stranger besides him. What right did this stranger have to cry over him? It was his damn fault that he was dead right now. 

It enraged him. 

He could go on with his life and become a known artist, but instead he was lying dead on the pavement.

“You know, instead of getting angry you should be glad you’re here,” a voice appeared said from behind the spirit.The artist whipped around faster than he could even imagine and was faced with something too normal. It was just a person in casual clothing. Then again, that was suspicious in itself because he was dead. Nobody else should be able to see him right now.

 

“At least you’re aware that you’re dead. Do you know how many times i’ve had to tell people they’re dead and then they start attacking me or try to terrorize those around them? Way too many, in case you didn’t care enough to know.”

“If I’m dead then how the hell do you see me?” He asked angrily, standing up and tearing his eyes away from his battered body. 

“You could say that I’m a middle walker. Someone who helps those that are new to this place.”

“What do you mean this place,” the artist scoffed, “this is Earth.”

“No, honey, this is what mortals would call Limbo, to give it a mundane title,” the other spirit said while giving a warm smile. “Regardless of that fact, I’m Jaehyun, welcome to limbo.”


	2. All That Glitters is Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lmao this was more of a stress post because why the fuck not jdsbkc  
> here's some insight/the artists experience with being dead,,,, i guess???  
> (once again, not beta'd)

Ch 2

 

“So then what is it that I’m doing here in regards to death?” The artist asked conversationally. As if he wasn’t dead. He looked back to see a still frame of the other man clutched over his broken body. Most people would be panicking at the vision of themselves cold on the pavement, but he had a feeling something like this could happen at any moment. 

Graffiti was risky business. 

The artist didn’t want to perish this early, but what was done, was done. No going back from death. 

“Boy, your thoughts are really loud, man,” Jaehyun said. 

“It’s not like I’m trying to think loudly,” the artist said with an eye roll. 

“No, it’s not even that. As the welcoming spirit to limbo I’m able to hear all thoughts and processes in order to help those that enter without getting into altercations and such. It’s better that people don’t try to test me.”

“I uh, wasn’t even going to attempt to try and incapacitate you.”

“I know, that’s why I figured to let you know that I can hear your thoughts. Even if you did try it would be fruitless.”

The artist shrugged and looked around. It wasn’t much different from reality. Or rather, it wasn’t much different from what used to be his reality. 

“Question, what makes this different from uh reality? Is it slower here?”

“Oh no, I froze it in case you’d like to see what happens next. Any other questions, I’m here all week,” Jaehyun said with a slight smirk. 

“What exactly are you…?”

“I’m just here to say hello and lead you to your date.”

“That answers nothing at all. Also, what date? I didn’t meet anybody or my soulmate yet. I’m not much in the mood for dead speed dating,” the artist deadpanned.

“This is limbo, not exactly death, but okay, here’s the breakdown. I’m a spirit here to take you to what comes next for you, your date to decide what’s to come next. You might or might not meet the big man, I wouldn’t know. But your date is to decide if you’re going to get a redo or if you’re gonna float to wherever it is you end up going.”

“Makes more sense.” The artist noisily sucked his teeth, “So what happens if one loses their soulmate though, is there a replacement policy?”

“I personally wouldn’t be able to answer that for you, but you could ask your Voice of Reason whenever they pop by. Speaking of, would you like to see what happens next or shall we keep going on?”

The man furrowed his brow,” How long would you be able to pause it?”

“Any amount of time until the person is ready or the date is established.”

“I think I’ll wait until after the date to see what happens. If I die then I’m dead. No need to ponder on what could be if I’m not actually there to see.”

He was indifferent to death. Death is everybody’s biggest fear in some spectrum or another, but at this point whatever had been done is done. There’s no purpose to dwell on something that could have been or something that could have never happened. Yeah, he wished that life lasted longer, find his muse, meet the love of his life. He wished for a lot of things, but selfishness never got anybody far in life. 

He didn’t get far in life regardless, but he had other things to figure out. 

“I like your style, guy,” Jaehyun pat him on the back in a dudebro fashion, easily noting that the other current occupant was friendly. He could do with a kind soul. It isn’t every day that you’re faced with a harsh reality and welcomed with a smiling friendly face. 

The duality of it was almost stifling and dizzying to ponder on. 

Suddenly, a soft chime was heard. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but the pit of his stomach told him that something terrifying was about to happen. It might as well since he’s in need of some emotional input at this point. 

“Oh would you look at the time-“

“I can’t because I don’t have a watch,” the lost soul cut off the other man. 

“It’s okay because time doesn’t exist here. Anyway, onto your appointment. We must depart now or they’ll be upset.” Jaehyun grabbed onto the wrist of the artist and walked them forward, away from the fatal scene. 

Suddenly they were in an embellished room. Gold was the immediate sense satisfier to the artist. Just gold. It was as if a chill racked his body causing his bones to feel as if they were in a gelatinous state. 

Gold. 

Sterile. 

Elegant. 

Vivid. 

He was overwhelmed by the color and forced himself to focus more intensely on what was in the room rather than what it looked like. There were a few scattered desk stations and such within the decently sized room. There were also only two doors, one way in and the other possibly leading to somewhere further and possibly more important.

“Ah, Jaehyun, here with the 5 o’clock?” one of the secretaries asked.

“You know it, Jisung. Lay it down for me, when is this ones date?”

“Just give it a few pings and he’ll have his date. I heard the big man wants to see him, but don’t quote me on that.”

“Ooh,” Jaehyun looked at the artist with sparkly eyes. Either this is the most drama they’ve had in a while or it was a special occasion, the dead surmised. “Sit tight, buddy. You and I? We’re gonna be escorted in a few.”

Jaehyun continued to talk to Jisung about things that the third man didn’t understand. He let it happen. Something told him that he needed to be prepared for what was to happen within the next few minutes.


End file.
